Thursday, August 18, 2011

Twitter has occupied so much of my thinking lately and now it's time to blog about it. There are so many good guides to getting started on Twitter, that I won't do that here. Twitter is so important in today's world, that I believe all educators should be involved. Here are some simple ideas and procedures for Twitter teachers. My apologies if they are not original.

1. Follow a Twitter feed about current events via TwiterFall or some other hashtag aggregator. Good activity for getting analyzing points of view, fact vs. opinion, etc.

2. Locate hashtags for big global sporting events such as Tour De France, World Cup and the Olympics and see how many languages you can identify in the feed. Then try translating to English.

3. Identify and follow thought leaders, writers and major figures in your content area/field. If you start interacting with them, try inviting them to your class or conference. It never hurts to ask!

4. Start discussions on Twitter and give out a prize for the best Tweet.

5. If you do anything creative, such as a video or a killer lesson be sure to share it and Tweet it.

6. If you present anything for a local training, a conference, put it on Slideshare and tweet it.

7. After you've been on Twitter a while, you will naturally develop your Professional Learning Network (PLN), the folks that share your passion. Be sure to interact with them and thank them for their ideas. If you go to conferences, make sure you meet them in person. That's probably the best part of being a Tweeter.